Epartment of the reasury nteragency Agreement uide

[Pages:26]Department of the Treasury

Interagency Agreement Guide

Second Edition March 2013

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

1) Purpose .................................................................................................................................... 3 2) Scope ....................................................................................................................................... 3 3) Authorities ............................................................................................................................... 3 4) References ............................................................................................................................... 3 5) Definitions ............................................................................................................................... 3 6) Interagency Agreement Forms ................................................................................................ 4 7) Types of Interagency Agreements ........................................................................................... 5 8) Obligation authority................................................................................................................. 6 9) Financial Aspects of IAAs....................................................................................................... 7 10) IAA Documentation requirements ..................................................................................... 10 11) Reviews and Approvals ..................................................................................................... 11 12) Roles and Responsibilities ................................................................................................. 11 13) Statutory Authorities .......................................................................................................... 14 14) List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. 14

Appendix A: Determination and Findings ............................................................................... 15 Appendix B: Government Wide Agreement Form .................................................................. 16 Appendix C: Treasury Intra-departmental Purchase Request.................................................. 25

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT GUIDE

1) Purpose The purpose of this guide is to standardize Treasury-wide policies and procedures related to the preparation, processing, coordination, execution, administration, and close-out of Interagency Agreements (IAAs). This guide establishes Treasury-wide policy and procedures for IAAs.

2) Scope The guide applies to personnel in the Department of the Treasury and Treasury Bureaus.

3) Authorities Many Treasury IAAs are issued under the terms of the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535 & 1536), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 17.5 and the Department of Treasury Acquisition Procedures (DTAP) Subpart 1017.5. The Economy Act only applies when more specific statutory authority does not exist. See section 12 entitled "Statutory Authorities for Interagency Agreements" for a list of commonly referenced authorities.

4) References FAR Subparts 17.5 and 7.3; DTAP Subpart 1017.5; Principles of Federal Appropriation Law (the "Red Book"), Third Edition, published by the U.S. General Accounting Office; Treasury Financial Manual (TFM) Volume I, Announcement Number A-2013-4, "Notification of Updated Policy for Intergovernmental Transactions (IGT) for Fiscal Year 2103."

5) Definitions Frequently used terms are defined as follows for purposes of this guide:

a) Assisted Acquisition: As defined in FAR 2.101, assisted acquisition is a type of interagency acquisition where a servicing agency performs acquisition activities on a requesting agency's behalf, such as awarding and administering a contract, task order, or delivery order. Assisted acquisition is a subset of interagency agreements entered into for the primary purpose of obtaining services or products from contractors. Agreements for Assisted Acquisition are also referred to as Acquisition Assistance IAAs.

b) Determination and Findings (D&F): As defined in FAR 1.701, Determination and Findings are a structured form of written approval by an authorized official that is required by statute or regulation as a prerequisite to taking certain contract actions.

c) General Terms and Conditions (GT&C): The GT&C sets the relationship between the trading partners. It identifies the agencies entering into the agreement, the authority permitting the agreement, the agreement action, period, and type.

d) Interagency Agreement (IAA): A written agreement entered into between two Federal agencies, or major organizational units within an agency, which specifies the goods to be

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT GUIDE

furnished or tasks to be accomplished by one agency (the servicing agency) in support of the other (the requesting agency).

e) Intra-governmental Payment and Collection (IPAC): The system used by most Federal agencies for interagency disbursements and funds transfers. May also be used to describe the process for transferring funding pursuant to IAAs.

f) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) / Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): MOU/MOAs are agreements between agencies or bureaus that do not involve payment or transfer of funding. If the agreement involves funding, an IAA must be executed.

g) Obligation authority

i) Contracting Officer. Contracting officers have authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings. This authority flows from the head of the agency through the Senior Procurement Executive, Head of Contracting Activity, and Bureau Chief Procurement Officer. Contracting officers receive explicit instructions in writing regarding the limits of their authority.

ii) Program Officer. Program officer as used in this guide refers to an individual delegated authority to obligate funding on non-contractual instruments on behalf of the agency. Program officer authority flows from the head of the agency through the chief financial officer or other organizational element with explicit obligation authority.

h) Order (under an IAA). An order under an IAA creates a fiscal obligation between agencies or bureaus and delineates specific product and/or service requirements, funding information for both trading partners, and authorized signatures to obligate the funding.

i) Requesting Agency. The agency (or major organizational unit within an agency) that requests goods or services from another agency or unit through an interagency agreement.

j) Servicing Agency. The agency (or major organizational unit within an agency) that provides goods or services with agency resources or contracts for the service on behalf of the requesting agency or unit under the terms and conditions of an interagency agreement.

6) Interagency Agreement Forms Treasury uses the Government-Wide Accounting (GWA) form available at: for agreements between Treasury and other Government agencies. The GWS consists of the IAA General Terms and Conditions (GT&C) form 7600A and the IAA Order from 7600B. Treasury will encourage other agencies to adopt the common GWA form to the maximum extent practicable, but may use other agencies' formats for expediency provided that the format

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT GUIDE

contains all of the required GWA elements. For assisted acquisition agreements between Treasury Bureaus (using other Bureau's contracts), Treasury may use the Treasury Intradepartmental Purchase Request (TIPR) form (Appendix C) in lieu of the GWA form. The TIPR is maintained on the Treasury Procurement Policy and regulations site at .

7) Types of Interagency Agreements The term IAA can encompass agreements between Treasury and other agencies or between Treasury Bureaus for products or services. The products or services can be furnished by the other agency's federal employees or contractors. Acquisition assistance IAAs involve products or services provided by contractors as a principal purpose of the IAA. Non-acquisition assistance IAAs involve the provision of products or services by the servicing agency where contractor support is incidental to the provision of goods or services.

As an example of an acquisition assistance IAA, a program manager requires consulting to support strategic planning. The Department of Interior (DOI) has a contract for relevant consulting services. The program manager prepares an IAA for DOI to place an order for a consultant to support the program. The contracted services are the principal purpose of the IAA, therefore the approval of the requesting agency's contracting office is required prior to issuing the IAA.

Examples of IAAs for assisted acquisition requiring involvement of the requesting agency CO and execution of a D&F include:

a) Engagement of the OPM's procurement support services to award a contract for training services

b) Engagement of the General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Assisted Acquisition Services to perform acquisition-related activities on your behalf

c) Engagement of the Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center (IBC) Acquisition Services Directorate for support with Acquisition planning, solicitation, negotiation, contract award, administration, and/or closeout

As an example of non-acquisition assistance, agencies are directed by statute to use Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to obtain security clearance investigations on personnel. In performing this function, OPM obtains contractor support. The agency is not asking OPM to provide the contract, but to provide the service. The contract is incidental to OPM providing the statutorily mandated service, and therefore the approval or non-approval by a requesting agency CO is not required.

Examples of IAAs for governmental services not requiring involvement of the requesting agency's CO or execution of a D&F

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT GUIDE

a) Reimbursement for salaries of temporarily detailed employees

b) Reimbursement to the State Department for payments made to support Treasury employees working in foreign countries

c) Rent on GSA owned or leased buildings

d) Reimbursement for mileage & repairs of leased GSA vehicles

e) Reimbursable Work Authorizations for contractor performed building renovations and services requested through the GSA

f) Postage remittance to the US Postal Service

g) Non-expenditure transfer or similar congressionally directed or statutorily permitted movement of funds between agencies or bureaus

h) Reimbursement for OPM Security Clearance Investigation

i) Ordering of Training services using SF-182

j) Reimbursement for Government Accountability Office (GAO) pursuant to 31 U.S.C.?3521 or similar statutorily directed audit or review.

k) Security guard services furnished through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Protective Service - 40 U.S.C. ? 1315 makes DHS responsible for protection of Federal buildings. Treasury is required to buy protective services through DHS FPS unless authorized to do otherwise.

8) Obligation authority A Contracting Officer warrant is required to obligate funding on contracts. IAAs are not contracts, and therefore do not require CO signature. IAAs must be signed by an individual authorized through Treasury Order or Directive or Bureau implementing policy to obligate funding on behalf of the department or bureau organizational element. The obligation must be properly recorded in the Bureau's accounting system. Some Bureau policies may require the involvement of procurement staff and/or the entry of the IAA into the contracting system to ensure proper recording of the obligation. The following Treasury IAAs are generally prepared and funds obligated without involvement of the procurement office:

a) Government Printing Office (GPO): Treasury Bureau Chief Procurement Officers (BCPOs) may delegate obligating authority to staff responsible for printing and graphics for use of Form SF-1. Authority for use of GPO is contained in 44 USC 501 and 502 and in FAR 8.8. A separate D&F is not required for GPO orders.

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT GUIDE

b) General Service Administration (GSA) Reimbursable Work Authorizations (RWA): 40 U.S.C. ? 592 (b)(2) authorizes GSA to provide services not included in an agency's rent on a reimbursable basis through the Federal Building Fund. The GSA Customer Guide, available at: discusses the process for reimbursing GSA to do the work, which is generally completed by issuing a contract either through the landlord of a leased building or directly to a contractor in the case of a GSA-owned building. A separate D&F is not required for GSA RWA orders. Consult with your Facilities Operations office on the form and execution of RWAs.

c) Intergovernmental Personnel Agreements (IPAs) are Reimbursable or nonreimbursable agreements under the authority of 5 CFR 334 that may be entered into with state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and Indian tribal governments. IPA assignments may be intermittent, part-time, or full-time. A separate D&F is not required for IPAs. Consult with your Chief Human Capital Office on the form and execution of IPAs.

d) Training: In certain circumstances, the SF-182 may be used to document arrangements to receive training from another agency on a reimbursable basis. Specifically, Bureaus may delegate obligation authority to staff responsible for training and professional development pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 4104 and 4105 for use of the SF-182 to reimburse other agencies for training provided that:

i) the training cost of a single training event, program, or instructional service does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $150,000);

ii) the cost is of a fixed nature, i.e., price per student or price per course, program, or service; and

iii) the program, course, or instructional service is off-the-shelf and no modification or development resulting in increased cost to the Government is needed to meet Treasury's needs.

9) Financial Aspects of IAAs

a) Effect of IAA An IAA represents an obligation in the requesting agency's financial system.

b) Time of agreement A completed IAA is essential; however, the lack of a written agreement before performance may not necessarily preclude reimbursement. For example, reimbursement can still be made if (1) an IAA had been in effect for several prior years, and (2) the facts showed that the agencies intended to continue the IAA for the year in question. A written agreement is required to record the obligation and make payment. However, foregoing reimbursement may itself raise appropriations law issues. For this reason, legal counsel should be consulted if it is discovered that services have been accepted from another agency without an IAA in place. See

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT GUIDE

Volume IV, Chapter 15 of the "Red Book" for additional information.

c) Option Years IAAs may include option years. Ensure the performance work statement and Economy Act D&F (if required) cover all planned option years. Funding for each option year must be available and appropriate for obligation at the time the option is exercised.

d) Types of Payment

i) Advance payment A requesting agency obligates funding at the time of the execution of the IAA. The advance pay scenario may be used in the case of assisted acquisition to cover the full amount of the anticipated contract obligation where the servicing agency requires the funds on hand in its financial system prior to obligation. Advances should be limited in usage and requested only when a business need exists for an advance in order for the seller to execute an order. The servicing agency will process an IPAC transaction to transfer funds prior to entering into a contract obligation. Advance payment will often be based on estimates, which will require subsequent adjustments up or down when the actual costs are known. Reports of actual expenses are forwarded to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)/Point of Contact (POC) for approval, then posted in the financial system to draw down the advance. Any excess should be promptly returned to the requesting agency. Retention of the excess amount by the servicing agency is an improper augmentation of funds.

ii) Reimbursement Funds are obligated in the requesting agency's financial system when the IAA is executed. Reimbursement is made after expenses are incurred. IPAC transactions generally occur following delivery of products or services or on preset intervals (e.g. monthly, quarterly, and annually).

iii) Direct Cite Under a "direct cite" interagency agreement scenario, the servicing agency incorporates the requesting agency's accounting information and payment instructions into the servicing agency's contract. The contractor submits invoices to and receives payment from the requesting agency. The requesting agency is granting the servicing agency authority to obligate requesting agency funds . The IAA must explicitly authorize the servicing agency to obligate funds requesting agency funds and provide for appropriate recordation.

e) Costs

i) Costs consist of direct costs (expenditures incurred by the servicing agency which are specifically identifiable and attributable to performing the service)

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